Troublesome. How far does the fence go?

It only gets more secure as she goes north.

All right then. She finds a quiet alley near the crossing, and settles down to meditate. She stretches her awareness out, lightly touching on nearby minds. What do the guards feel like? Are they alert and focused or bored and distracted? Any unusually strong emotions or unusual patterns?

The ones in the section of the border where Hohenheim said they would cross -- the eastern desert region -- are bored but alert. That region doesn't see too much action.

The ones further north are agitated, scared of dying, anxious. She might recognize the pattern of punctuated chaos followed by stillness as an active warzone.

Right. And when there's a moment of nothing of particular import occuring-

"We're going to cross here. Follow me, stay calm, and don't say anything."

He nods. There are guards close by, but she can sense emotions and he can't.

She walks up to the gate.

"We're going through," she says to the guards. A twist of the hand, a pressure on the mind, a distortion of reality. "We have authorization. Open it."

"Yes, sir," he says dazedly. Open.

"Nice work." Hohenheim shuffles through first.

Occlus follows. Hohenheim experiences something very much like a painful muscle cramp in his left leg. The soldiers aren't permitted to notice should he happen to stumble or cry out.

He ignores it, stopping for the second or so it occurs. Doesn't even attribute it to her, actually.

She lets them get a ways out before saying anything.

"I distinctly recall telling you not to say anything."

"Oh, did I? I'm sorry."

"Be more mindful. What is our course from here?"

"We'll go north, then northwest, until we reach a town called Resembool. I have a house there, and friends. And most of the alchemy texts I accumulated or wrote over the years."

"Very well. Lead on."

He does.

The road is hard. Which is to say that there is no road, and it's hard work moving on anyhow. Hohenheim is still able to navigate, and with two people to carry food and only one person who prefers to eat, they're able to maintain their strength for a while.

That's fine, so long as he doesn't push himself into the state in which she found him.

He's far less likely to, with her there.

On the horizon is a city. Hohenheim stills. "Ishval. There was a civil war here recently."

Not much left of it.

"I can sense the fear lingering. And panic. More a slaughter than a war, I would say."

"Just so. There's no one left here. Not even children."

"Rather thorough of the Amestrians. For what reason?"

"It's part of his plan. The circle he needs to become strong enough to eat Truth involves killing a certain number of people in specified areas around the country. The next massacres will be to the north, if they haven't happened already."

"Let's hope they haven't."

They get closer to the city.

It's not a ghost town because ghost towns have intact buildings. There is rubble everywhere. Scorchmarks from fire and bombing. Spikes from the ground made by alchemists. Transmuted artillery guns protruding from the ground. 

They avoid the pits. There are fewer bacteria than normal for a desert area of this climate. Some of the bodies haven't even skeletonized.